Video Games

CUT SCENES AND POINT OF VIEW

The use of cinematic cut scenes in computer-based games is one of the
more obvious connections between cinema and games. Cut scenes are short,
pre-rendered sequences in which the game player performs a role closer
to that of a detached observer than is the case in more active periods
of gameplay. Cut scenes tend to employ camera movement, shot-selection,
framing, and editing similar to that used in cinema. Many games use cut
scenes to establish the initial setting, character and background
storyline. Opening cut scenes frequently employ the same expository
devices as cinema, using a combination of long shots, medium shots, and
close-ups to provide orientation into the game-world for the player. Cut
scenes are also used at varying intervals throughout many games to
forward the storyline and to entice or reward players with sequences of
spectacular action, connect disparate spaces, and provide dialogue
between new playing characters. They may be used to provide clues or to
establish enigmas that have a bearing on the narrative trajectory of the
game. Critics of the use of cinema as a reference point for games often
suggest that cut scenes provide the only formal connection between the
two because such scenes are freer than interactive sequences to use the
particular formal devices associated with film (in sequences in which
the camera is able to break its usual connection with the visual
perspective of the player/character). Cut scenes have, historically,
been clearly marked by higher visual qualities than interactive
sequences, although this has steadily been reduced with the advent of
increased graphics processing resources.

The point of view structure of games can also be examined from a
perspective informed by approaches to the study of cinema: the specific
ways, for example, in which particular first- and third-person
perspectives operate from moment to moment or from one game to another.
This is a complicated area that involves some major differences between
cinema and games. Pre-rendered camera angles are used during gameplay in
some third-person shooter games, including
Dino Crisis
(1999) and the
Resident Evil
(beginning in 1997) games made before
Resident Evil 4
(2005). Predetermined framing of this kind departs from the point of
view of the player/character and functions like that of film, to some
extent, directing the attention of the player and creating visual
diversity though shifts in perspective. The point of view that results
is not anchored to the perspective of the character played, however, and
comes at the expense of player freedom.

Pre-rendered framing is not found in first-person games or in games
designed to be playable in multi-player mode (such as
Quake
[1996],
Half-Life
[1998],
EverQuest
[1999] and
World of War craft
[2004]). Framing that shifts perspective within gameplay sequences is
perhaps more cinematic than that found in most other types of games,
although important differences remain.

The first-person perspective used in many games is a rarity in film in
other than brief sequences (the major exception is the 1947 noir film
Lady in the Lake
). This point is highlighted by the limited extent to which it is used
even in the combat sequences of
Wing Commander
(1999), a direct adaptation of the game. Third-person cinema, by
comparison, usually involves a much greater and more fluid range of
point of view orientations between camera, protagonist and viewer than
is found in games. The intermittent fixed views offered within games
such as
Resident Evil
and
Dino Crisis
have a rigidity that creates a very different, sometimes frustratingly
limited, perspective on the action, although they can function to create
suspense by enabling the player to see what awaits at a location not yet
visible to the character. By contrast, role-playing games (RPGs) and
"God" games such as
The Sims
(2000),
Civilization
(1990),
Black and White
(2001) or
Settlers
(2005)—in which the player creates a world or presides over a
society—are among examples that demonstrate little cinematic
association in terms of formal strategies. In the 1990s some
"God" games, real-time strategy (RTS) games and RPGs, such
as the early entries of the
Final Fantasy
series (beginning in 1990) and
Baldur's Gate
(1998), displayed the field of battle or action in aerial mode. This
fixed view is opposed to the more varied shots found in cinema and the
restrictive tracking, point of view, and eye-level shots that
characterize first- and third-person games. In later incarnations and
with greater graphic processing resources, players are able to
"zoom" in and out of the action. This enhanced facility
accords with the pragmatic value of the various viewpoints required to
direct and manage gameplay, and in moving from a fixed aerial or
three-quarters point of view to a more fluid and playerled arrangement,
greater cinematic resonance comes into play. But the important
difference is that the players make the choice of "shot"
to suit their situation.

Even where there are some cinematic resonances, different devices of
visual orientation operate in games because of the relationships
established between players and the space-time coordinates of
game-worlds. Mainstream cinema has developed well established systems of
spatial orientation, especially the continuity editing system, to avoid
confusing the viewer during shifts from one camera position to another.
Many first- and third-person games permit the player to look and move
throughout 360 degrees (as far as obstacles permit). This is possible
with less disorientation than would usually be expected in a cinematic
context because the player-character moves through a particular virtual
space in real-time with the camera-view often anchored to a single
viewpoint. Even so, the exploration of 360-degree space in games can
become disorientating, especially when done under pressure or in a rush
(hence the frequent inclusion of maps and compasses in games that
require players to explore large spaces). Games are far less likely than
films to use ellipses to eliminate "dead" time. Time in
games may be spent exploring the available space or interacting with
objects that do not have any significant bearing

Milla Jovovich prepares to battle zombies in
Resident Evil
(Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002), based on the popular video game.

on the main set tasks. Most films give screen time only to what is
deemed essential to the storyline or the building of character or mood.
Action-adventure-type games operate mainly in something closer to
real-time with ellipses occurring primarily at the end of levels or
chapters. This creates a significant difference between the pace (and
length) of games and that of films. Thus despite the shared use of some
aspects of framing,
miseen-scène
, dialogue, and music, the structuring of point-of-view, time, and space
are quite different.

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